


Same as it Was

by Gemi



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Genre: M/M, SAINW, based mainly on 2012, because SAINW is awesome and heartbreaking, crocodile/turtle love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 13:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemi/pseuds/Gemi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything is wrong and filled with shadows, his brothers too broken and too different. <br/>Only one hasn't changed, and he finds comfort in whom he used to fear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Same as it Was

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my dear friend Momorawrr, whose amazing art you can find on deviantArt!

The sky was grey and his brothers were broken.

 

It was strange and frightening.

He didn’t recognize them; only Raphael was anything like _Raph_ , but it _wasn’t_ Raph.

He was too teary-eyed and happy, too easily riled up. The short fuse had become a mine waiting to be stepped on.

 

But Leatherhead was there.

 

And somehow, Donatello felt the safest and most comfortable with him.

 

Leatherhead may have grabbed his face back in the _normal_ time, he may have almost bitten Donatello’s head off.

He may have once scared the hell out of him, to the degree that Donatello hadn’t dared to be alone with him.

 

But that was- apparently -thirty years ago.

 

And Leatherhead was as alike as one could be.

 

Donatello wasn’t sure how he was back here; maybe it was an alternate dimension, where LH had never thrown himself into the Kraang dimension.

 

All he knew was that Leatherhead was the same; there were one or two new scars, but he was still the _same_.

He wasn’t missing limbs or eyes, didn’t have scars all over his face.

He wasn’t wearing clothes that looked wrong. He wasn’t gloomy, wasn’t too silent, wasn’t bitter.

 

He was... Leatherhead.

 

Fangs making his smile awkward, bandages across thick hide and curious eyes.

 

He was the same, and as much as Don adored his brothers, it was far more comfortable and soothing to be close to the devil he knew rather than the shadows he couldn’t remember.

 

“LH,” he said as he frowned down at the schematics and maps, scattered all over the all but rotten desk, “do you think these are still correct?”

 

He felt the large reptile look over his shoulder. Warm breath puffing against his neck.

 

“No,” Leatherhead rumbled after a moment. “Kraang there. They build.”

 

Donatello nodded.

Then he blinked; froze as he felt a long snout nuzzle his throat, fangs scraping against his neck.

 

“Smell same,” LH commented, soft puffs. “How?”

 

“I wouldn’t say I smell the same,” Don replied, feeling oddly awkward. “I haven’t had a shower in two days- and I’m turning black from all the oil that got smeared from when-”

 

“No, smell same,” the crocodile insisted, his vocabulary faulty due to his too long mouth, accidentally nipping at Donatello’s oiled-stained skin. “Fresh. Young.”

 

“Well, obviously,” he mumbled. Twitched as Leatherhead nuzzled again. “Leatherhead? What are you doing?”

  
“Smelling.”

  
“Not _only_ smelling- I’m not stupid.”

 

“No,” and he could swear the crocodile was grinning as he nudged Donatello’s chin up with his snout, “Very smart. Smarter than Kraang.”

 

Donatello felt his cheeks flush.

He tried to frown as he tilted his head back, meeting the curious, bright eyes.

 

“So what are you doing then?”

 

“Kiss-kiss, Michelangelo says,” LH rumbled. “Kissing. Showing I like you. Affectionate.”

 

Donnie’s flushed cheeks became an even darker green.

 

“Kissing?” he squeaked out, voice breaking in an embarrassing manner.

 

“Kissing,” Leatherhead patiently repeated. “Not like humans do, but trying.”

 

“Ah. Uh. Okay.”

 

His brain was thinking too fast and too slow at once.

Donatello stared into Leatherhead’s eyes, unable to do anything else.

 

There was patience and affection and something burning warm.

More than the affection, which was similar to that of his brothers’ and father’s, but deeper and far more interesting.

 

Don finally looked away. Ducked his head, nose bumping against Leatherhead’s.

 

“Okay,” he repeated, feeling the crocodile’s snout slide against his skin as the larger reptile tilted his head. “That’s, uh. Nice.”

 

More than nice- which it shouldn’t be, because he had only just gotten over his crush for April.

April, who was single back _there_ , but married _here_. April who had finally become a sister instead of a love interest.

 

And he liked girls, didn’t he? Soft and pretty human girls, with fierce personalities and sharp, bright eyes.

 

But.

 

But he liked Leatherhead too; now when he wasn’t attacking him.

 

Now when he was patient and sweet, the rock in the middle of the storm.

Smarter than he had first appeared. More of a cuddle monster than a killer machine.

Someone who wondered if there were noodles left in the world, or if he could one day taste Mikey’s awful pizza soup once more.

 

Someone to rest against when everything was too confusing and too dark and too bloody.

 

“... kissing like love-love, or kissing like... like platonic love?”

  
“Love-love,” was the murmured reply. Another nuzzle.

 

“Well,” Donatello choked out, “That’s good then.”

 

And he dared to pet Leatherhead’s long nose, and when he turned around he was greeted by a goofy and toothy smile.

 

He smiled back, feeling shy and awkward and nervous and so very, very confused.

  
But he also felt happy and giddy, and that, in the end, sealed it.


End file.
